A New Addition
by LadyRogueTiger
Summary: There is a new addition to the group; Donna's new freshmen roommate from college, Eppie Taylor. Eppie seems really cool to everyone and then... she starts dating a gasp jock. Hyde has a theory about this and is out to get to the bottom of it. Not Finish
1. A New Roommate

The door to room 207 was wide open. That meant someone was already in there unpacking. Not just someone, my new roommate. I stood in the hallway, weighed down by bags and uncertain of what to expect. I had never met the girl. In fact, I didn't even know her name. I had registered late and was randomly selected a roommate.

After a few moments of hesitation, I gathered my courage and inched closer to the door. In the room, I saw a scrawny guy who couldn't have been that much older then me. Him and a shorter, older man with an afro where pushing a set of drawers against the far wall.

Okay, it was time to suck it up and make my entrance. I could do this, couldn't I? Well, maybe not. I turned to make my cowardly escape, but as I did, my backpack slid off of the one shoulder it was slung over. The backpack hit my hand hard causing me to drop my orange, hard-sided suit case onto the tiled floor. I cringed at the loud thud the suit case and backpack made as they hit the floor.

The guy who had been moving around the furniture looked up at the sound and saw me standing timidly in the doorway, fallen bags laying at me feet.

"Hey," he nodded at me. "You must be the new roommate." A tall red headed girl joined him and smiled at me.

"Yeah, I guess I am," I smiled and laughed softly, nervously.

"Hi, nice to meet you," the girl reached out her hand. "I'm Donna Pinciotti; this is my fiancé, Eric Foreman, and my dad, Bob."

"Eppie Taylor," I said shaking Donna's hand. "What year are you?"

"Sophomore," she replied.

"Oh," I bit my bottom lip nervously.

"I'm guessing you're a freshmen," Donna smiled. I nodded slowly. "That's okay; we are all freshmen at some point."

"Aw, com'on, Donna," Eric whined. "Ya gotta rag on her a little bit, it's our duty, being older and all."

"Shut up, ya dill hole, and help her bring in her bags," Donna said, lightly punching him in the arm.

"Ow," he whined as he walked out into the hall to pick up a few of my bags.

"She seems nice," I heard Bob whisper to his daughter. Those few uttered words made me feel so much more comfortable following Eric back into the room.

We spent the rest of the day unpacking and arranging furniture. I listened as Eric and Donna told me about their friends. Donna was becoming more and more excited about introducing me to them.

That night, Bob took Donna, Eric, and I to dinner at Fatso Burger. He then drove us back to his house, where Eric then led Donna and me next door to his house.

We walked in through the sliding glass door which I made sure to slide shut behind me. The kitchen where we were standing was bright and cheerful.

"Hey, Mom, this Eppie, she's Donna's new roommate at college," Eric introduced me to his mom, Kitty.

"Oh, hello, Eppie, would you like some cookies?" Kitty ran over to the cupboard. "I could make chocolate chip, peanut butter, and sugar cookies."

"No, thank you, Ma'am," I replied.

"Aw, she called me 'ma'am'," Kitty placed her hands over her heart. "I like this girl."

"Thanks, Mrs. Foreman," Donna smiled. "We'll be down in the basement if you need us."

"Have fun, kids," Kitty called after us as Eric and Donna led me to the basement.

The basement was simple. To my right, there was a freezer and a washer and dryer. Directly in front of me was the T.V. It was tuned into 'Charlie's Angels" and there was a group of people sitting around watching the show.

Donna walked up to the T.V and tuned it off. This action was met by protests from all who were watching.

"Shut up" she said "Now listen, I brought my new roommate with me, so be nice. Guys, that's Eppie Taylor." She pointed back toward me. I was still standing on the last step and waved nervously at the group.

"Hey," the guy sitting in the vinyl kitchen chair to my far right nodded to me. I just smiled in return.

"Eppie, meet Hyde, Jackie, Kelso, and Fez," Donna continued as she pointed to each of her friends.

"Great, now can we turn back on the tube?" Kelso whined.

"Yeah, yeah," Donna gave in and turned back on the T.V.

"Don't mind Kelso," Hyde said, stabling himself on the back two legs of the vinyl chair he was in by pushing with his legs on the large wooden utility wire spool that was in the center of the room as a table. His arms were crossed over his chest. "He's an idiot."

"No I'm not," Kelso defended himself.

"Yes, Kelso is the king of idiots," Fez nodded. Hyde smirked at the agreement.

"At least I'm the king," Kelso pouted.

"Quiet, the shows back on," Jackie hushed the guys.

Donna sat down next to Kelso on the couch. Eric jumped up and sat on top of the washing machine. That left me; standing on the last step on the stairs.

Hyde, who seemed acutely aware of my nervousness glanced over to see me standing awkwardly still. He lifted his feet and allowed the chair to fall to all fours. "Ep., ya can sit here." Surrendering his chair, Hyde joined Eric on the washer.

"Thanks," I quietly said, sitting down in the vinyl chair.

I really enjoyed spending the evening watching TV in Eric's basement. The guys had sat around fighting over who was the hottest angel in 'Charlie's Angels.'

At about one the next morning, Donna decided that it was probably a good idea for us to return to the dorm.

"Eric, could you drive us?" Donna asked, turning toward the washer. At that point, we discovered that Eric's back was resting against the wall and he had fallen asleep.

"I'll take you," Hyde offered, jumping down off of the dryer.

"Thanks Hyde," Donna said, opening the door leading to the driveway. I followed her up the stairs and over to an El Camino which was parked right in front of the garage.

Donna already had her hand on the door handle of the backseat so I assumed I was suppose to climb in on the passenger's side front seat.

Shortly, we arrived back at the dorm where I began to gather my books, getting ready for the next day.

"Nervous 'bout your first day?" Donna asked as she fell into her bottom bunk.

"Is it that obvious?" I bit my bottom lip, fearful of the answer.

"Yeah, well, don't be," she replied. "First week, the professors won't give you any work. Well, unless you have Corner. You don't have Prof. Corner, do you?"

"No."  
"Ya will, next semester, but don't worry, I'll help you," Donna told me.

"Thanks, that's reassuring," I laughed.

"Ew, nice burn," Donna laughed.


	2. Classes and Friends

After the first few days of class, the weeks began to roll by un-relentlessly slow. I had three classes on Mondays and Wednesdays; English 103, Introduction to Public Speaking, and Introduction to Fine Arts. Tuesdays and Thursday s I took American Civics I and Introduction to Photography. On Fridays, I finished off my week with English 103 and Introduction to Fine Arts yet again. My classes were boring, but I always looked forward to the evenings and weekends, where I spent my time in Eric's basement.

I soon learned that Hyde lived in the Foremen's basement, so no matter what time I went over there, I was pretty much guaranteed he would be down there. I also had met Mr. Foremen, Red, and had decided that the easiest and best way into the basement was through the stairs that led down there from the driveway.

I talked Donna into coming with me to watch the first football game of the season. The two of us then insisted that Eric, Hyde, Fez, Kelso, and Jackie come with us. Eric really had no choice, considering how Donna wouldn't kiss him until he agreed. Hyde, Fez, and Kelso agreed to come so that they could search for hot chicks and Jackie, not wanting to be left out, threw her fists down against her sides crying out, "Fine, I'll come, but next weekend Donna and Eppie are coming with me to the mall. You both need new looks anyways."

We arrived at the football field at the community college about fifteen minutes early.

The game soon started. Hyde and Eric spent the time making fun of the different players on the field. Kelso would insert a comment here and there, but we all laughed at how stupid the comments where instead of laughing at the players.

"Number 41 looks like a complete prick," Hyde laughed.

"I don't know," I said. "He doesn't look that bad."

"Oh, don't tell me you think he's cute," Jackie turned to me.

"He has good eyes," I told her.

"Hey, when did this conversation turn into a chick flick," Kelso cried out.

Ignoring him Jackie continued, "No, number 75 is cute, number 41 needs some serious help."

"I kinnda like 22," Donna said.

"Hey!" Eric cried out.

"Aw, I still love you Eric," Donna comforted him. "But this is girl talk."

"Yeah, okay…" Eric looked disappointed.

"You give up too easy, Foreman," Hyde said to Eric. "If your gonna make Donna your wife, ya gotta let her know who's boss."

"Yeah Donna," Eric turned back to his girl. "Your mine and I don't like you looking at other guys like that."

"Hyde, stop giving him ideas," Donna yelled. "Eric, don't worry."

"Hey, Eppie, it's almost half time," Jackie said. "Let's go flirt with the players."

"Alright," I shrugged.

I followed Jackie down the bleachers and off to one side of the field. A few of the football players gathered around Jackie who immediately fell into her old flirtatious self. Laughing at the stupid little things each of the guys said and twirling her hair with one finger seemed to work well for her, but I knew that I would just look silly attempting those techniques so I just stood behind her looking on admiration.

"Hey," I heard a guy saying behind me.

I turned around wide eyed at the thought that a guy was talking to me and not Jackie. "Hi, um, good game."

"Yeah, well we're trying," number 75 shrugged. "So, what's your name?"

"Eppie," I answered.

"Jordan, back on the field," the couch demanded.

"Sorry, gotta go, but I hope to see you around," Jordan smiled.

"Yeah, that would be great," I told him.

I then watched as he ran out to meet his team on the field.

"Well, Ep. You really hit it off with 75 didn't you?" Jackie said, pulling me back toward the bleachers.

"Yeah, I guess I did," I answered.

"You girls done now?" Hyde asked.

"Why, are you jealous, Steven," Jackie shot back.

"No, I was just wondering if we could go now," Hyde told her.

Donna leaned over to explain to me the small tiff that was going on. "Jackie dumped Hyde about a month ago. Ever since then she's been trying to make him jealous."

"Ah, I see," I laughed to myself. I was now starting to understand the way Jackie's mind worked and the thought of her and Hyde together was just odd.

"It's only half-time, Hyde," Kelso protested as Hyde stood up to go. "There's still a whole half of cheerleaders left."

"Yes, I want to see the cheerleaders," Fez said.

"Yeah, kay whatever," Hyde sat back down on the bench and sat quietly through the rest of the game.


	3. In the Circle: 1

The basement was dark because all the lights had been turned off and there was only the lamp above the T.V. left to light the large open space. Smoke filled the air as Hyde finished lighting the incense. The group used the incense to overpower the smell of pot. It also was an excuse for the smoke in the room.

"Man, those cheerleaders were so freakin' sweet," Kelso laughed.

"Yes, those girls had nice asses," Fez readily agreed.

"Jackie and Eppie sure were cozying up to those dumb-ass football players," Hyde complained.

"Your right Hyde," Kelso nodded. "What have they got that we don't anyways?"

"Good bodies," Eric suggested.

"What are you complaining about, man, you've got Donna," Hyde shook his head.

"So?" Eric asked. "You never seemed to care before."

"I wish I was making out with one of those cheerleaders right now," Fez smiled.

"Yeah," Kelso agreed. "Hey, I bet Eppie is making out with that number 75 right now."

"Shut up, Kelso," Hyde commanded.

"Dude," Eric said to Hyde. "What's wrong with you? You're bringing the whole circle down."

"Maybe I'm just not into today," Hyde began to stand.

"Is this all about Jackie?" Eric demanded to know.

"No, this has nothing to do about Jackie," Hyde then left the circle and the basement.


	4. What About Saturday

That next Monday, Donna and Eric met me for lunch in the college's cafeteria. The two were making their way over to the table I had saved for us. Eric was talking to Donna in a hushed voice and it wasn't until they were closer that I could make out what he was saying.

"I'm telling you, Donna, I've never seen him like this," Eric seemed really concerned.

"I'm sure he'll be just fine," Donna tried to reassure him.

"Who?" I asked.

"Hyde," Donna answered. "Eric thinks he's even more crazy then usual."

"Not think, know," Eric corrected her.

"No," Donna shook her head.

"Well, sure he seemed a little down at the football game, but that was nothing to worry about from what I saw," I inserted.

"He left the circle," Eric said attempting to emphasis his point.

"The circle?" I asked.

"That's where a whole bunch of us get together to… smoke," Donna informed me. "And believe me, that's not like Hyde to leave like that. Why didn't you stop him Eric?"

"Would you want to stop Hyde when you're high?" Eric shot back.

"No, I guess not," Donna said.

"So, shouldn't we help him or something?" I suggested.

"Hyde won't accept help from anyone on a personal problem," Donna shrugged.

"Wait, Donna, wait," Eric said. "What if he didn't know we were helping him?"

I looked at Donna as if saying 'it might work.'

"No," Donna shook her head and looked over at Eric. "No. Well, maybe. We'll try it, but I'm telling you it won't work."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned around to see Jordan smiling at me. I was shocked but pleasantly surprised to see him next to me.

"Oh, hi… um," I said, looking slightly confused.

"Jordan," he said presuming that I had forgotten his name.

"Yeah, I knew that," I said.

"Eppie, we'll talk to you later, I have class," I heard Donna say somewhere behind be.

"Yeah, sure," I waved my two friends off.

"So, are you doing anything tonight?" Jordan asked sliding into the chair next to me.

"No," I told him. "Oh, wait, yes, I am busy tonight."

"Oh, I understand," Jordan sounded disappointed.

"No, it's not because I don't like you or anything, because I do," I stammered trying to cover my slight slip up. "It's just that I already made plans." Jordan looked at me, his eyes full of sadness. "Oh, not with another guy, with my friends, Eric and Donna; they were just sitting there, across from me."

"Aren't they engaged?" Jordan asked.

"Yeah," I answered. "The wedding's going to be beautiful."

"Great," Jordan continued. "So, how does Saturday sound?"

"Wonderful," I smiled, amazed at how graceful I was turning out to be. "Call me."

I wrote my number down on a napkin and walked away. That went so well I could hardly believe that was me talking to my crush.


	5. MASH

That night I walked into the basement carrying my sketch book and a bundle of pencils wrapped in a rubber band. Hyde was in his usual place, watching the television.

"Hey, where is everybody?" I asked sitting down on the couch.

"Donna's at work, Eric's gone to pick her up, Fez and Kelso are off doing something stupid, and I have no clue about Jackie," Hyde answered.

So, I was the only one on time to try and help Hyde. Aw well, I guess it was better that we all didn't enter at the same time; it would have been a bit suspicious.

"Donna told me that you and Jackie used to go out," I said. "I can't imagine that."

"Yeah, she dumped me," he said in a matter-of-fact manner.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, trying to look past his sunglasses and into his eyes.

"Don't worry about it," he shrugged his shoulders. "What are you doin'?"

He had to be referring to the sketch book I was lightly marking in. "Oh, just drawing," I told him, surprised that he had even noticed. "Art's my major."

"Cool," he nodded. The room was silent through a segment of MASH. During the next set of commercials, I sensed Hyde watching as I was sketching on the pad of paper in front of me.

"What?" I finally asked him.

"So, you and 75, huh?" he said.

"Jordan, and yeah I've agreed to go on a date with him on Saturday," I answered not really sure where this was leading. "Why?"

"Tell me about yourself," Hyde said.

"Where are you going with this?" I asked.

"I'm just curious," Hyde told my. "I mean, we've sat in this basement alone numerous times and I just don't know anything about you, where you're from, your family life, ya know."

"I'm from just south of here," I started. "My dad's dead, mom's remarried, I had two older brothers, one died in 'Nam, one's in jail for running to Canada, I'm an art major." That should be good enough. He didn't need to know any more then that did he?

At that moment I heard Donna and Eric descending the stairs to join Hyde and me in the basement.

"Hey, Hyde, Eppie," Eric greeted when he saw the two of us. "What are we watching?"

"New episode of MASH," I answered.

"Great," Donna plopped down on the coach next to me. She leaned over and whispered in my ear. "Find anything out about Hyde?" I simply shook my head in response. Donna leaned back in disappointment.

We didn't discover anything else the rest of the night and soon I had to get back to the dorm. I had a test the next day and still had a lot of studying left to do.


	6. Conspiracy Theory

"I can't believe she's going out with that asshole," Hyde shook his head while rolling his eyes.

"Who?" Eric asked

"Eppie and Jordan," Hyde explained.

"Are you jealous of Jordan?" Donna asked.

"No, of course not," Hyde told her. "It's just that she fits in so well with our group and he most defiantly does not."

"True, but Jackie didn't fit in with our group," Donna replied.

"Maybe not, but Kelso is so much more stupid and wiped then Eppie," Hyde pointed out. "Maybe this has something to do with her stepfather."

"What are you talking about Hyde?" Eric was afraid of the answer, but he had to know.

"She told me that she had a stepfather but she didn't go any more in depth," Hyde was beginning to get that look in his eye, the one that could only mean he was thinking up some conspiracy theory. "Maybe he stepfather works for the government and she didn't tell me because she didn't want me to bug her about Area 51."

"What does this have to do with Jordan?" Donna asked.

"Give me a moment with that one," Hyde licked his lips and put a cigarette between them. "Okay, maybe the government is infiltrating the jocks to try and get them to join in some big cover up within the next generation of sports players. Eppie's stepfather is making her go out with him to begin the first phase of this."

"What ever," Eric shook his head. "Hey, Donna, need a ride back to the dorm?"

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Donna laughed at the craziness of this latest theory.

Hyde smirked to himself as he watched Eric follow Donna up the steps. He had told them what they had wanted to hear. It was crazy enough that they completely believed that Hyde believed the conspiracy he had spouted off at them. But his real conspiracy was really much more understandable.

Eppie had told him very little about her family and life outside of the college and the gang. Hyde thought that maybe she didn't like her life outside of what he saw. Maybe she was embarrassed about choices she had made or thought that Donna and the rest of them wouldn't accept her if she let them see what she was hiding. The only thing Hyde knew for sure was that Eppie was hiding something and he was determined to find out what that was.


	7. Jackie's Doll

That week crept by slowly. Jackie was probably more excited about my date on Saturday then I was and from Thursday on, I became her personal doll. I honestly didn't mind being dragged around the mall by Jackie for two very good reasons. One, Donna was with me and two, Jackie was buying me new clothes. She and I wore about the same size so I had to promise that she could wear the outfits that she was buying, but hey, they were still free.

When the three of us got back to Jackie's house, we all headed up to her pink room. There were posters of David Cassidy and Donny Osmond hanging on the walls. The lamp on her night stand was covered with a piece of red cloth. This was the first time I had been in Jackie's room, and while I should have known this would be what her room looked like, I was still a little surprised and looked over at Donna who was sitting down on the bed. She could see that I was shocked and shrugged with a little laugh.

"Okay, Eppie, let's see what kind of make up you have," Jackie said. She grabbed the leather purse hanging off my shoulder and dumped its contents out onto the bed next to Donna. A few dollars and a credit card fell out with my lip gloss, driver's licenses, student I.D. card, set of keys, and cover-up.

"Lip gloss and cover-up!" Jackie cried out. "How did you ever get Jordan to ask you out with only lip gloss and cover-up?"

"I have eye shadow and blush back in my room, but I don't carry it on me," I told her.

Jackie crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "I've got so much work to do." She shook her head.

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Donna suppressing laughter by covering her mouth with the palm of her hand.

"What?" I demanded to know from her.

"I'm just glad you're her doll and not me," Donna confessed. Jackie gave her the death stare in response.

"Alright, since I wont get to preview the colors of make up you have before the dress rehearsal for you're date tomorrow night, we'll be using my make-up," Jackie said.

"Wait," I stopped her. "We're having a 'dress rehearsal' for _my_ date?"

"Yeah," Jackie answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "You do actually want to look decent, don't you?"

"Well, yeah, but I thought that all I needed was a new outfit," I told her.

"Oh, honey, the outfit isn't complete without accessories, hair, and make-up," Jackie informed me. "Some times working with a blank slate can be so frustrating!"

"Alright," I gave in. "What time do you want me here?"

"Great," Jackie sounded so excited. "We'll meet in Eric's basement at five."

"Eric's basement?" I was skeptical. I really didn't want Jackie giving me a make-over in front of all the guys. I mean, Donna was giving me enough trouble as is, the guys would have as much fun teasing me as Jackie would teasing my hair.

"Right, at five," Jackie nodded.

"Okay, fine," I shrugged. "But Donna, tell the guys that they can't say a single word about this."

"Don't let them bother you Eppie," Jackie said. "They don't know anything about true beauty."

"I'll punch the first one who tries to burn you," Donna promised.

"Yeah," Jackie said. "And they'll shut up because Donna punches like a boy."

"Thanks Jackie," Donna's voice was full of sarcasm.

"Well it's true, Donna," Jackie was now being persistent.

"We'd better get going Eppie," Donna said. "We'll see you tomorrow at five, Jackie."

The next day, I found Jackie waiting for me in Eric's basement. She had her make up bag emptied on the table in the center of the room. After hearing the steps creaking under my weight, Jackie turned and smiled at me.

"Ah, there you are," Jackie said. "Come sit right hear." She patted the cushion on the couch next to her.

I did as she asked and watched as she held up several different blushes to compare them to my complexion. After finding the perfect match, Jackie began to lay out the numerous eye shadow combinations looking for two or three that best matched my eyes and the outfit she had bought the day before. She decided on a mixture of green and brown. Black was the easiest and most obvious choice for both eyeliner and mascara leaving only lip liner and lip stick to worry about. For that Jackie settled on a muted but rich red. Once she had made her final decision for the make up she handed me the outfit to put on.

"Use Steven's room to change in," Jackie directed me.

I grabbed the outfit and went into the back room of the basement. As I was changing, I heard about two sets of foot steps coming down the stairs.

"Hi, Steven, Fez," I heard Jackie greet the guy.

"Hey Jackie," Hyde answered her.

"Wait, where are you going?" Jackie demanded of them.

"To my room," Hyde told her, in a tone of voice that suggested that this should be apparent to her.

This response startled me for I had just taken off my shirt and was fighting to get the sweater over my head. There was no real door to Hyde's room and I knew that he wouldn't have to be too close to be able to see me. My panic was causing me to have a more difficult time with the sweater. Luckily, Jackie was able to stop him from walking in on me.

"You can't," she admitted to Hyde. "Eppie's in there."

"What's she doing in my room?" he asked her.

"I told her to go back there to change," Jackie answered.

"Oh, can I watch?" Fez sounded a little too excited for my comfort.

"No," Jackie almost sounded disgusted.

"Fine, I'll wait," Hyde told her.

"No, I'm getting her ready for her date," Jackie persisted.

"But that's not until tomorrow night, Jackie," Hyde said. I personally agreed with him, but I really wasn't up to fighting Jackie on this. It just seemed easier to give into her then to battle her.

"Yeah, and I still might not have enough time," I could just imagine Jackie rolling her eyes as she said this. "I mean she has potential, but she has a lot of work to do before she looks anywhere _near_ as good as I do."

"She looks fine Jackie," Hyde told her in an irritated voice.

This last comment made me stop and smile. I don't think I ever had anyone say that about me before. Even though I knew he was just being nice, it still made me feel really confident and good about myself.

"Whatever," Jackie responded. "Now get out so that I can finish."

"Alright Hyde, we're not wanted here, let's go bug Eric," Fez said and I hear the two leave out through the basement door.

"Okay, lemme see ya," Jackie called to me.

I straightened the plaid skirt as I walked into the main area of the basement. Right before I reached the couch, I did a little twirl to let Jackie take a look at me from all angles. Jackie smiled and clapped her hands together like a little girl.

"Isn't this fun?" she asked me. "Okay, lemme start on your make up and then I'll work on you hair."

After sitting for about half an hour and letting Jackie play with my make-up and hair, she declared that she was finished. Just after I had a chance to take a look at myself in the mirror Jackie had brought with her, Eric and Donna came down the steps followed by Hyde, Fez, and Kelso.

"So Eppie, enjoy playing dress up?" Eric asked with a stupid grin on his face. As Donna had promised, she reached over and punched him in the arm.

"What do you guys think?" Jackie presented me to the group.

"Great," Hyde shrugged. "Is my room open now?"

"Yes," Jackie rolled her eyes as Hyde made his way to his room.

"Alright, what time is your date tomorrow?" Jackie turned toward me.

"Seven," I told her.

"Okay, meet me here tomorrow at the same time," Jackie instructed me.

"Am I ganna be kicked out of my room again tomorrow?" Hyde asked as he came back out of his room carrying a brown paper sac.

"Yes," Jackie put her fists on her hips.

Hyde just sat down on his usual chair and shook his head. "Fine."

"Well, I'll see you guys later, I've got to get back to campus," I said.

"See ya," Hyde nodded as I walked out of the basement.


	8. In the Circle: 2

"Alright," Kelso said as soon as the door closed behind Eppie. "I really wish I could stay, but I have to go baby-sit."

"Brooke is very lucky to have a free baby-sitter," Fez said.

"Yeah," Hyde continued. "If you weren't the father, but a thirteen year old girl instead, she'd have to pay you a dollar an hour."

Eric, Donna, and Jackie were all stifling laughs as Kelso stood there trying to find the right come back. After a few moments Kelso just huffed and stomped on his way out the door. Hyde laughed to himself as he lit the incense. Donna, Eric, Jackie, and Fez pulled up lawn chairs and gathered on the couch around the table.

"I wonder if Eppie is as excited about her date as you are Jackie," Donna said.

"Could we please not talk about that stupid date for just five minutes?" Hyde asked."What's with you Hyde?" Eric asked.

"Nothin' man," Hyde told him. "I'm just sick of hearing about that stupid date. It's like listening to you going on about your problems with Donna."

"Yes," Fez agreed. "That did get old."

Hyde motioned toward Fez in a way that said, "See what I'm sayin'?"

"Whatever," Eric rolled his eyes. He did have to agree that a change of subject was in order. "I wonder if Kelso is a good baby-sitter."

"I wouldn't trust Kelso with any kid," Donna said.

Fez had brought a banana down with him and was beginning to peel back the skin. "Ever notice how much a banana looks like someone's fun stuff?"

"Yeah man," Hyde laughed. He was relieved that the subject had changed for the first time in a week.


	9. The Dime

The next day, I arrived in Eric's basement before Jackie. I was beginning to feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach. Hyde was just coming out of his room as I was trotting down the steps.

"Hey, Hyde," I smiled.

"Hey," he replied. "So today's your big day, huh?"

"Yeah, my first date," I plopped down one the couch.

"Really?" Hyde looked at me skeptically.

"You seem shocked," I told him.

"I'm am," Hyde admitted. "I don't think I've ever met somebody who hasn't been on a date. Even Fez has been on a date."

"I just didn't feel ready," I told him.

"Why not?" Now I was getting a little uncomfortable. I really enjoyed talking to Hyde, but every once in a while he seemed to want to know the stuff that I just wasn't willing to talk about. Hyde seemed to sense my uneasiness and spoke up. "Listen, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just want you to know that I understand crappy situations. My mom abandoned me to go live with some guy. So if you ever need to just talk or whatever, I'm here."

I had never seen Hyde this sincere. He really seemed to care.

"Well," I decided that maybe it was time I confined in someone. "I just didn't feel comfortable because…"

At that moment the back door opened and Jackie raced in carrying her makeup and the outfit. Jackie fell down onto the couch beside me and asked "Are you excited?"

Hyde leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up onto the table in front of him. He pushed against the edge of the table to lean on the back two legs of the chair.

"I'm a little nervous," I confessed to Jackie.

"Why?" she didn't seem to understand.

"This is her first date," Hyde informed her.

"Really?" Jackie was probably more surprised then Hyde had been.

"Hyde!" I glared at him, my eyes pleading with him.

Hyde released his legs and allowed the front legs of the chair to fall to the floor. I watched him as he rose to his feet.

"Have fun," he said as he patted me on the shoulder.

I drew in a quick breath and grew completely rigid at his touch.

"Okay, turn toward me," Jackie said pulling out the blush she had decided on using the day before. I turned and she began to run the brush across my cheek bone.

After finishing the make-up and hair, I slipped into the outfit and Jackie led me upstairs and into the living room. Eric and Donna were in there watching Laverne and Shirley.

"Guess your all ready," Donna said.

"Yeah, but she shouldn't look like she is," Jackie began. "I'm taking her upstairs. When Jordan gets here stall him for like… ten minutes. Then I'll bring her down and everything will be perfect."

"Kay, whatever," Eric replied, barely even glancing up from the television.

Jackie motioned for me to follow her as she made her way upstairs to the second floor. Once up there I sat down and watched out the front window.

"I was nervous about my first date with Michael," Jackie said. She was trying to make me feel better, but I was past the point of calming down.

A '77 Ferrari pulled up into the driveway. "He's here," I turned to Jackie. "How do I look?"

"I couldn't have done a better job," Jackie smiled.

"Jackie! Eppie!" I heard Donna call up the steps. "Jordan is here!"

"Be down in a minute!" Jackie yelled back at her.

"Why can't we just go down now?" I asked her.

"Because!" Jackie sounded like this was supposed to be obvious. "This is just how it is."

"Right," I agreed. "Whatever you say. It's just that I want to get this over with already."  
"If your so scared, why don't you just call off the date?" Donna asked as she walked into the room.

"No, you can't do that!" Jackie protested. "If you stand him up now, you'll never get a second date."

Donna just looked at me, waiting for me to answer for myself.

"I have to have my first date sometime," I shrugged.

"See, there's a good girl," Jackie grabbed my arm and led me back toward the stairs. "Let's go."

When we reached the bottom of the steps I saw Eric still sitting where we had left him. Hyde was now sitting in Red's olive colored chair staring at Jordan who was standing self-consciously near the door.

"Hey, Eppie, you look really nice," Jordan complemented.

"Didn't I do a good job?" Jackie asked. Donna punched her in the arm and rolled her eyes. "Ow, Donna!"

"Eppie, could I talk to you in the kitchen for just a moment," Hyde asked pulling himself from the chair and heading through the swinging door into the Forman's kitchen.

"Yeah, sure," I glanced at Donna in a way which asked her if she knew what this was about. She just shrugged her answer.

"What's up?" I asked following Hyde through the swinging doors.

"I don't know what it is, but I do not like this guy," Hyde pointed back toward the family room where Jordan was waiting for me. "Now I know I can't force you to not go out with him, but just incase you need it, call me." Hyde held up a dime and asked me to take it.

"Thanks Hyde," I put the dime into the leather purse I was carrying.

"I just hope you won't need it," he told me as he walked back into the family room.


	10. The Call

Well after everyone was supposed to be asleep at the Foreman's house, Eric found himself tossing and turning in his bed. After about thirty minutes of not being able to fall asleep, he made his way down to the kitchen.

Once he was down in the kitchen, Eric realized that he had not been the only one who couldn't sleep that night. Hyde sat with one of the barstools pulled up to the oven. He had a Budweiser in his hand and was staring at the phone.

"What are you doing?" Eric asked as he pulled a Bud out of the refrigerator for himself.

"Waiting for Eppie to call," Hyde answered as he took a large swig of the beer.

"God, Hyde, it's late," Eric popped open his own beer. "I'm sure she's already back at the dorm with Donna."

"No, something's not right," Hyde shook his head. "I just know."

"Do you really believe that theory you gave us about her stepfather and crap?" Eric asked.

"No," Hyde admitted. "Bet there is something she's not tellin' us."

"What do you think it could be?" Eric was really getting curious now.

"Honestly?" Hyde glanced over toward Eric long enough to see him nod his response and then began watching the phone again. "I think she was sexually abused."

"Oh Hyde, come on man," Eric began to protest.

"No, really, man," Hyde cut him off. "Haven't you ever wondered why she won't go near one of us guys but she'll let Donna and Jackie gussie her up like that. I've even noticed that she won't even look Red in the eye."

"Frankly, that's a good idea," Eric pointed out.

"At least she won't be on the receiving end of one of Red's glares," Hyde agreed with a small chuckle.

"Okay, so she won't let us touch her," Eric got back on the subject. "Maybe she's just from a conservative family or something."

"I don't think so," Hyde shook his head. "If she were from a conservative family, she wouldn't have allowed Jackie to put make-up all over her face."

"If she had been sexually abused, why is she going out with this guy then?" Eric asked.

"I don't know," Hyde shrugged. "She's probably hoping to get over her fear."

Eric was contemplating this when the phone rang. Hyde jumped up and grabbed the receiver before the second ring.

"Eppie?" Hyde answered the phone. "Where are you?" There was a pause and Hyde bit his bottom lip as he listened. "I'll be right there." Hyde hung up the receiver, pulled his keys out of his pocket, and headed for the sliding glass door. Noticing Eric wasn't following him, Hyde turned back to his friend. "Ya comin'?"

Eric smiled and threw his empty beer can away as he passed the trashcan on the way out.


	11. Friends Like You

I stood in the hotel lobby, with my arms wrapped around myself in a tight hug. I had been looking forward to this night for a long time and I was hoping that this would be a turning point in my life. This date however had not made my wish come true. It had left me empty and in fear.

"Heya, hon," the lady at the front desk broke into my thoughts. "Your friend on 'is way?"

"Yes, ma'am," I nodded shifting my weight a little under my feet.

"I'm glad ta hear that," the lady smiled. She then continued on with the paperwork she had been filling out.

I slowly made my way to the small brown couch in the middle of the lobby and layed down across it to wait for Hyde to show up.

I didn't have to wait long. Even though, I was two towns out of Point Place, Hyde's El Camino pulled up with in thirty minutes. I sat up as Hyde and Eric walked in the door.

"These you friends, hon?" the receptionist asked.

"Yes ma'am," I told her.

"I have a daughter just a few years younger then you three," the lady said. "She lives with her dad. I hope she has friends like you two fellas ta help her out, like you help this little one out. You kids have a safe trip home."

"Thank you," Eric smiled at the lady as she turned back to finish her paperwork.

On the way back to the Foreman's house, I sat between Eric and Hyde, I tried to make myself as small as possible, making sure not to touch either of them, ever around tight corners that Hyde sometimes had to take. Suddenly, my body felt weak and I could tell that I was completely worn out; I knew that I could no longer hold my body so closed in and tight. Reminding myself that I was with friends whom I could trust, I forced myself to relax. Soon my mussels were loosening, and I began to grow tired.

Hyde glanced over to see my head fall and jerk back up as I was trying to keep from falling asleep.

"Lay down," Hyde commanded, reaching over with a free hand and gently guiding my head to his shoulder.

"No, I'm alright," I said, resisting the chance for rest.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Hyde reassured me.

I studied his face for a minute, recognizing the seriousness in his set jaw. Slowly, giving into my fatigue, I allowed my head to lay on Hyde's shoulder, and before I know it, I was sound asleep between two of my friends.


	12. Confessions

The next morning, I woke up in a rather unexpected place, the couch in the Foreman's basement. Looking around I noticed Hyde watching the TV from his chair, the volume turned way down. He was awake but obviously tired because he was watching _This is Your Life_, a thirty minute Lutheran drama only shown on Sunday mornings and this show was not his type of show.

"Thank you," I said quietly. Hyde looked at me, seeming somewhat surprised I had awakened. "For picking me up last night and all."

"No problem," He said.

Later that night, Eric and Donna sat to the left of me on the couch. Jackie was resting on the lawn chair. The deep-freezer was being used as a chair for Kelso and Fez. Hyde sat in his usual spot to my right.

As we sat watching _Three's Company _(Jackie's Choice), I could feel Hyde's eyes watching me. Every so often, I would look over at him and smile uncomfortably, then quickly turn back toward the T.V.

"Donna, your parents are waiting for us to come over for dinner," Eric said after glancing down at his watch.

"Okay," she agreed, rising to her feet.

"Fez, let's go see if there's any hot girls wandering around, looking for something good to do," Kelso suggested.

"I'd love to Kelso," Fez nodded. The two of them then followed Eric and Donna out the back basement door.

That left just Jackie, Hyde, and I sitting down in the Foreman's basement watching _Three's Company_. Hyde's eyes shifted from watching me to glaring at Jackie.

"What?" Jackie demanded, noticing Hyde's fierce look.

"Nothin'," Hyde shrugged turning back toward the T.V.

At just that moment, on the T.V., Crissy realized that Jack and Lana wanted to talk so she uncomfortably excused herself from the room, almost tripping over the armchair on her way out.

Once the scene was over, Hyde turned once again to glare at Jackie.

"Okay, okay, I get it," Jackie surrendered. "I have to go wash my hair anyways." She got up and left me sitting alone with Hyde.

I had acutely been trying to avoid this very situation. I knew that the very moment that Hyde could get me alone, he would want to talk. I did not want to talk; especially about the subjects I knew that would be brought up. Hyde would want to talk about my past and about what happened during the date I was on with Jordan.

Hyde didn't say anything though; he just turned back and continued watching the show. After a little while he looked at me.

"So," Hyde said. "We never completed our conversation from the other night."

"What conversation?" I tried to play dumb. Hyde immediately caught on and tossed me a lop-sided grin.

"A few days ago you were telling me about yourself," he reminded.

"Right, that one," I looked down at my hands.

"Listen," Hyde said, leaning forward with him elbows on his knees. "You don't have to tell me. It's just that I'm a pretty good listener and I've had my share of hard times. That's why I'm here at the Foremen's. My dad left before I could really ever get to know him. My mom took off with some guy when I was like sixteen. After she left, I lived off of Saltines and Ketchup."

"Are you serious?" I let out a little laugh.

"Yeah, it wasn't pleasant," Hyde reassured me.

"Okay," I gave in. "I had told you that my dad died when I was like four, so I'm the youngest in my family. My mom remarried almost immediately. She married this real jerk, but she would never believe me when I told her I didn't like him. She always thought I was making in up because I missed my dad. My brothers believed me, but my stepfather would threaten them to keep quiet. As soon as they could, my brothers tried to help me run away, but my stepfather caught us. That's when my oldest brother joined the army. He was instantly sent to over to 'Nam and before his first letter could be sent to us, he was killed. The day my surviving brother turned eighteen, he packed his bags and took off for Canada. My stepfather notified the authorities who caught him at the border. That left just me, my mom, and my stepfather. My stepfather… he… um…"

"He made you do things you didn't want to, right?" Hyde searched my face and when I looked up, my eyes met his and for the first time since my dad died that I looked any male in the eyes. In his blue eyes, I saw true sincerity and care.

"Yeah, at first it was only about every other month, soon it was once a month," I paused, realizing I was saying things I had never told anyone outside of my family. "I couldn't stop him, I didn't know what to do, what to say; I would just lie there, thinking of nothing and of everything all at once. Soon he began coming after me once a week, when my mom would go to the store."

"Last night, Jordan wanted you to do things you didn't want to, right?" Hyde continued.

"Why else would we have been at a hotel?" I tried to laugh my tears away. Hyde smiled understanding my need to laugh at this point.

He motioned for me to slide toward the middle of the couch and as I did so, he moved over next to me. He put his hand over the back of the couch. Slowly I leaned over toward him and as soon as my head touched his shoulder, I collapsed into his arms where I began to weep.


	13. Thanksgiving

Hyde and I had become close over the next few months, which is why I shouldn't have been so surprised when Donna confronted me about our relationship.

"So, are you and Hyde like, I don't, an item," Donna acted slyly and asked one day, while I sat on my bed working on some homework."

"What? No! Why?" streamed out of my mouth, almost too quickly to understand.

"Whoa, Ep., don't get so defensive," Donna smiled, with a little laugh. "I was just asking because you two almost seem inseparable."

"Really?" I lied, rather convincingly if you ask me. "I hadn't noticed."

"You're the only one oblivious," Donna smiled.

"Whatever," I remarked. "What are you doing for Thanksgiving?"

Donna could tell that I was just trying to change the subject, but she played along anyways.

"Kitty and I are going to be making dinner for mine and Eric's families," she answered. "The whole gang's invited. You should come too."

"That would be great," I smiled. "Thank you."

-

That next Thursday was Thanksgiving and Hyde, Kelso, Fez, Jackie, Eric, Red, and Bob were already gathered in the Foreman's living room when I knocked on the front door. Eric was the one to open the door and let me in.

"Hey, Ep." Eric greeted. "My mom, Donna, and Laurie are in the kitchen getting dinner ready. You wanna watch the game with us?"

"You're mom, fiancé, and sister are the only ones working one dinner?" I asked stepping inside and handing him my coat.

"Well, Laurie's not really helping," Eric told me. I could tell he wanted to say something else, but I noticed he realized his dad was glaring at him.

"Jackie, why aren't you helping out?" I looked over at her.

"No way would we eat anything that came out of that kitchen if Jackie was in there," Hyde spoke up.

"I'm not that bad of a cook," Jackie protested.

"Yeah, besides, Donna and my mom kicked her out of the kitchen," Eric nodded.

"I think they'll need my help," I told the group as my made my way toward the kitchen.

Donna looked up from the oven timer as I walked in.

"Hey, Ep. Ya come to help us out?" she asked me.

"Yeah, I heard Jackie wasn't much help so I figured I was needed," I told the ladies.

"Great," Kitty almost jumped with joy. "Can you bake?"

"No," I admitted. "But I'm a quick learner."

A few minutes later, I was busy mixing eggs, ginger, nutmeg, and a few other ingredients when Hyde came in to grab another soda from the refrigerator. I knew that he really wanted a beer, but with Red sitting in the living room I knew that he wouldn't grab one.

"Whacha makin?" Hyde asked me.

"Something with the word pumpkin in the name," I told him.

Hyde came up behind me and placed his left hand on my left hip. He reached over my right shoulder and scooped up some of the batter on his index finger. I bit my bottom lip as I felt my cheeks begin to blush. Hyde tasted the batter on his finger.

"Hm, this is good," he complimented as he walked back toward the living room.

Even though the door had stopped swinging back and forth, the kitchen remained completely quiet. I looked up at Donna and saw her trying to restrain a smile and maybe even a laugh.

"Don't. Say. Anything," I wagged a finger at her.

"I will," Laurie spoke up. "You could do so much better."

"Now Laurie," her mother began.

"What?" Laurie asked defensively. "She could."

"There's nothing going on," I said, looking at each of the three in turn.

"Okay," Kitty said. "How's the turkey coming, Donna?"

-

I made a point to sit between Donna and Jackie at the dinner table that night. Eric sat next to Donna and Red sat at the head of the table, next to Eric. Laurie was beside Red and Kelso sat next to her. Every once and a while, he would try to look down her low shirt. Hyde sat directly across from me, with Fez next to him, and Bob sat next to Fez. Kitty sat at the end of the table, across from her husband.

Kitty had us go around the table and say what we were all thankful for, starting with Jackie.

"I'm thankful for clothes and my good looks," Jackie began. She was going to continue, but Kitty cut her off.

"Thank you, Jackie," Kitty said. "Eppie, what about you, hon?"

"Well," I started, rubbing the palms of my hands on my pants legs. "I'm thankful, for all of you gathered here. With out any of you, I don't think I would have made it this far in college, so thank you." I hadn't looked at Hyde the entire time I was talking, but once I said "thank you," I looked straight into his sunglasses. The corner of his mouth moved upward slightly.

"Aw, now that was nice," Kitty smiled. "Donna…"

The conversation continued on like this until we reached Kelso. Kelso said that he was thankful for Ferra Fosset and boobs.

"Alright," Red interrupted, slamming his glass down on the dinning table. "I've had about as much of this as I can handle. Jackie, Kelso, Tanto; you three don't live here, your not related to anyone here, and you have families of your own to be with. What are you doing here?"

-

"Well, that was the longest Foreman Thanksgiving ever," Hyde said as he plopped down onto his usual chair.

"Yeah," Kelso agreed as he was clicking through his way through a viewfinder. "We must be maturing."

"I didn't get to say what I was thankful for," Fez said.

"Yeah, Kelso, and you're the most mature one here," Donna commented.

"I'm thankful for candy," with that, Fez unwrapped a Baby Ruth.

"Thank you Donna," Kelso believed the sarcastic compliment Donna had paid him.

"M'nM's, Reese's, Hershey's," Fez was continuing.

"Well, I know one thing I'm thankful for," Hyde smiled as he pulled a brown paper bag out of his back pocket.

"Ew!" Kelso cried out with joy. "Me too!"

"Yep, real mature," Donna leaned over toward Eric.


	14. Finals and Threats

The next major break from school would be for Christmas, giving all of us students just under a month of time off of classes. Due to the length of the break, the school announced that all dorms would be closed to students during the time, so I made arrangements to stay with Donna at her dad's house. I knew that I would really enjoy the time off and have a blast spending the break with Fez, Eric, Donna, Jackie, Kelso, and Hyde.

Before I could sit back and take pleasure in the holiday though, I had to study for my finals. Studying kept me captive in my room for approximately two weeks and Donna kept reminding me that the finals weren't as bad as everyone made them out to be. She told me that she began to worry that I was studying too hard and that this would only cause me to do worse on the tests and not better. Donna also said that the gang was beginning to ask about me. She said that Kelso was even concerned that I had been abducted by extra terrestrials. I responded to her by informing her that this was all just silly and that the group knew where I was and should understand how important my grades where to me.

"They'll never understand that," Donna laughed. "Classes never really meant much to them. In fact, Hyde rarely even knew what classes he was taking, and Kelso only passed the classes where he had a young 'hot' teacher. Somehow they both still graduated."

Later that week, I had been studying for the final that scared me the most; a comprehension test in Intro. to Public Speaking. Donna was out with Eric for some fancy dinner or something giving me privacy to study in. I never really liked being completely alone in the room so as was my custom when Donna was out, I had left the door open. I was sitting on my bed with my notes spread out all around me as I was creating note-cards labeled with some of the key terms I just knew would be on the test.

All of the sudden I heard something outside of my door and I looked up out of pure curiosity. There was nothing there, so I just shrugged and went back to working on my note-cards. With no other warning, Kelso came rolling into my room, his hands held together and his fingers pointing like a gun.

"Please don't tell me that is something they taught you at the academy," I said.

"No, of course not, this is too cool for them," Kelso informed me as Fez and Hyde walked in behind him. "Why?"

"Because it looked like something out of a cheesy 'B' movie," I answered.

"Bu-urn," Fez laughed as I shrugged again.

"Just be thankful we took the real gun away from him," Hyde told me making me smile and shake my head as I turned once again to my note-cards.

"What are you guys doing here?" I asked, beginning to list all that properties that make up a good persuasive speech.

"Kidnapping you before the aliens can," Kelso said stuffing his hands in his pockets. I rolled my eyes and kept on writing, Hyde back-slapped his friend across the chest.

"No, really, we are stealing you away from your homework," Hyde continued.

"Can't," I replied. "Huge final."

"Com'on," Fez pleaded. "We're going to see a movie and then we're stopping by The Hub, you 'ave to come with us."

"Sorry," I sighed. "Just a few more days, and you'll have me for almost a whole month; we can do all that then."

"No good," Hyde said as he began to gather up my notes and the note-cards. I was desperately trying to grab them back and protect the others all at the same time. Hyde then folded the notes together and put them all in the inside breast pocket of his coat and then zipped his coat up. He knew I was too shy to go in after the notes. "You're coming with us tonight."

I might not have been willing to physically go in search of the notes, but being a girl I did still have one trick up my sleeve. I put on my best puppy dog face and began to whine. "Hyde, I really have to do well on this test. I know this might not mean a lot to you, but I want at least a 3.5 GPA."

At that moment my phone began to ring. I rolled my eyes and reach toward the receiver. "Hello?"

I paused as I listened to the voice greet me on the other side of the phone. "Oh, hi Allen," I sighed.

"Who's Allen?" I saw Hyde whisper.

I turned around so that I wouldn't have to look at him. "But Allen, I've already have plans for this break." I paused again. "That's not fair!" Pause. "Alright, I'll talk to you later." I hung up the receiver and folded my arms across my chest.

"Eppie?" Hyde spoke up after a minute of silence. I didn't answer. "Kelso, Fez, go wait in the car." As the two walked out of the room, I could hear Hyde come up behind me. He placed his hand on my shoulder and I quickly shied away. "Eppie, what's wrong? How's Allen?"

"My stepfather," I whispered. I was shocked that he even heard me.

"Oh," he replied as he sat down on Donna's bed. "So what did the basterd want?"

"I have to go home for Christmas Vacation," I told him, my voice still quiet. "If I don't, he says he'll stop paying for my college, then I'll have to go back home for good."

"Son of a bitch," Hyde muttered.

"What am I going to do?" I asked turning to face him. Tears began to fall down my cheeks and I wanted to run toward him, but all my insecurities had returned and I couldn't bear the thought of his touch.

After a moment of thinking, Hyde responded. "I'll come with you."

"What would Mrs. Forman say?" I asked exasperatedly throwing my arms down to my sides.

"I'm pretty sure she'll understand," he shrugged. "_And_ if she doesn't, she'll just try to guilt me into staying, but it won't work."

"My family won't allow me to bring home a guy," I protested.

"Just tell them your bringing home a friend, don't even mention that I'm a guy," Hyde commented. "Listen you have to go home, but I'm not going to allow you to go home alone. That's just asking for trouble, I'll pick you up after your last final, alight?"

I just nodded. Hyde got up and walked over to me. He pushed my chin up with his left hand and looked into my eyes. With a caring smile that seemed so uncharacteristic yet becoming on him, Hyde said, "I won't let anything happen to you."

Hyde then slid my notes onto my desk and walked out of the dorm room, closing the door behind him.


	15. Permission, Needed or Not

Kitty Foremen looked up toward the sliding glass door as she heard it open. She had been standing before the stove stirring some stew in a large pot when Steven Hyde entered the house. She watched in confusion as he walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a beer.

"Hi, Steven," Kitty greeted. "I thought you and the others where going to the movies."

"Yeah, well, something came up for one of us, Mrs. Foremen," Hyde told her as he popped open the beer.

"Oh," she sounded concerned. "What happened?"

"You know Eppie Taylor, right?" Hyde began.

"The new, cute, little one who called me 'ma'am'?" Kitty waved her hands around a little as she was describing the girl.

"Yeah," Hyde nodded.

"Oh, I like her," Kitty commented. "You two would be cute together."

"Anyways," Hyde shook his head. "Her stepfather called her this afternoon. She has to go home for Christmas vacation."

"Well, what's so horrible about that?" she asked. "I'm sure her family's dieing to see her. She hasn't been home all year. Why, she's been here all year."

"The bad part is," Hyde took a deep breath, a little worried about telling Mrs. Foremen about this. "Home isn't so great for her."

"Well why not?" Kitty didn't seem to be getting this at first.

"Her stepfather isn't really a good guy," Hyde said, hoping not to have to put this any more bluntly.

"Oh, no," she placed her hands on her hips. Now she was even more concerned. "Well, you know she'll welcome here if she has no where else to go, Steven."

"That's not the problem, Mrs. Foremen," Hyde explained. "Ep. was going to stay with Donna, but her family has said that if she doesn't come home for break, their not going to pay for college, forcing her to go home. For good. The point is, I offered to take her home."

"Oh how thoughtful, Steven," Kitty said. "But your going to miss all the food and presents and, ew… ew… you'll miss the tree decorating."

"Man, I didn't even think about that," Hyde acted as though he cared. "Aw well, I promised."

"All right, you can go, but don't do anything to hurt her reputation," Kitty told him. "She's a good girl."

"Yes, Mrs. Foremen," Hyde smiled a little to himself. He would have gone even without Kitty's permission, but the was she was stating this made him laugh.


	16. Introductions

Two days and three finals after the phone call from my stepfather, Hyde caught up with me as I was walking back to my dorm room.

"You all set to go?" he asked me.

"Yeah, I just gotta grab my stuff," I replied.

I was actually starting to get really excited about going home. I couldn't wait to introduce Hyde to my brother, take him around my home town, and show him more of my life.

"Here, let me help you with that," Hyde grabbed a hold of the large bag I had slung over my shoulder. That left just my purse and my sketchbook for me to carry.

Hyde and I didn't talk too much once we set out on the road. The silence wasn't too awkward though because he was constantly tuning the dial on the radio so that Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd was always playing. I spent the two and a half hours working in my sketch book. Once finished with the drawing I had been doing, I looked down to see a perfect pencil drawing of Hyde behind the wheel of his beloved El Camino. I had finished just as Hyde was pulling off of the highway and I needed to put away my sketchbook so that I could help direct Hyde to my house. We pulled into my driveway around four o'clock that afternoon. My mom ran out to meet me.

"Eppie, darling!" my mom cried out in greeting.

"Hi mom," I replied as she wrapped her arms around me.

Hyde stepped out of the car and reached back in to pull out the bags.

"Mom, this is my friend, Steven Hyde," I introduced.

"Hi Steven," my mom said. "You didn't say you were bringing home a guy, Eppie."

"Sorry, I didn't think you would mind," I lied.

"It's nice to meet you," Hyde nodded toward my mom.

"Why don't you two come inside and get settled in," my mom suggested. "Steven, I hope you don't mind sleeping in the basement."

"Not at all," Hyde answered with a smirk.

"Where's Allen?" I asked my mom as we walked up the front porch of the house.

"He's still at work," she answered me. "But he'll be home in an hour or so."

The next hour passed without too much incidence. I did help my mom pull a cot out of the backroom in the basement and set it up for Hyde. All too soon though, my stepfather walked in the front door to find Hyde and I flipping through the channels on the new color T.V. in the front room.

"Hello Eppie," he said when he saw me.

"Hello, sir," I said quietly looking down at my hands as I sat straight up and scooted slightly farther from Hyde.

"And who's your little friend?" Alan asked, his voice sounded very condescending.

"Steven Hyde," Hyde stood up to introduce himself. Even I could feel the death glare Hyde was giving my stepfather. I watched as my friend gripped Alan's hand for a handshake and realized that he was holding far harder then I would have imagined.

"Yes, well," Alan replied. "I didn't realize our little Eppie had a boyfriend."

"He's not my…" I started to say but was soon cut off.

"Now you know," Hyde said in a very cold voice.

"Hyde!" I cried out, my voice barely more then a whisper.

"It's alright Eppie," Alan cut me off again. "It's quite alright."


	17. Freedom

"Hyde, why did you tell my stepfather you were my boyfriend?" I asked once the two of us were alone in the basement.

"I didn't," he told me. "He assumed it, and why let him think otherwise?"

"Well…" I paused in an attempt to think of an answer other then the obvious one but when I couldn't come up with a good response I decided that the obvious answer might just be the best one. "Because you're not my boyfriend."

Hyde just laughed lightly at my response.

"So what is there to do in this town anyways?" he asked me.

"Well, I could show you what I do when I want to get away from here," I shrugged.

"Now you're talkin'," Hyde nodded.

"No, not that," I laughed. "Grab your coat."

Hyde shrugged and did as I asked as I ran off in search of my own coat. I then met up with him again out by his car. I began to give Hyde directions and soon we pulled up in front of the local recreational center.

"Why are we here?" Hyde asked looking out the front windshield toward the building after he had parked.

"You'll see," I promised as I opened the door and stepped out.

Hyde followed me as I walked into the rec. center and up to the front desk. I presented the receptionist with my community card.

"Hi there Eppie," the old receptionist greeted. "I haven't seen you around here recently."

"Sorry, Mrs. Galiger," I smiled. "I've been at college up in Point Place."

"Welcome home, dear," Mrs. Galiger said. "So you've brought a friend with you today?"

"Yeah, this is Hyde," I introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Hyde nodded.

"He's cute," Mrs. Galiger tried to whisper but was unsuccessful. I just laughed a little. "Why don't you two head on inside, the ice has just been smoothed out."

"Thank you," I said, grabbing Hyde's hand and pulling before he had a chance to protest.

"Ice?" he asked as I pulled him toward the rink.

I gave the guy at the front desk a dollar and took the two pairs of skates over to a set of benches. Hyde walked over and looked at me through his sunglasses.

"I don't ice skate," Hyde stated bluntly.

"You've never tried," I replied as I laced on my set of ice skates. "Com'on."

"I fall once and I'm through," Hyde threatened with a wag of his finger. I just rolled my eyes.

"Com'on Hyde," I said, pulling him to his feet once he had laced up his skates. I helped him balance on the thin blades and then led him toward the ice.

After stepping out onto the ice myself, I helped Hyde on and started telling him some of the basics. I skated backwards as I held on to Hyde's hands.

"Good, bend your knees," I instructed. Stiffly, he did as I asked.

"I can't believe you talked me into this," Hyde said.

"You asked for it," I told him.

"Oh yeah?" he sounded skeptical.

"Yeah," I answered. "By insisting to come home with me."

"Well if I'd known this was a requirement, I'd have thought twice," Hyde joked.

"Really?" I asked. Hyde nodded.

I let go of Hyde's hand and smiled a little as he attempted to stabilize himself on the unfamiliar ground. Once I was sure he wasn't going to fall, I took off and rounded the corner of the oval rink, picking up speed as I went along. Being the middle of the day during a weekday, the rink was nearly empty, giving me plenty of room to show off. Once I had enough speed, I set myself up and began to spin in place. I took in a deep and refreshing breath as I allowed myself to be set free. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of my hair flying around my head. After slowing to a stop I skated back toward Hyde.

"Wow," Hyde clapped a little. "I'm impressed."

"Thanks," I shrugged. "I used to take classes. I… I told you this is how I get away."

Hyde grabbed a hold of my hands to stabilize himself out. "What else can you do that I don't know about?"

I just shrugged with a little smile on my face. Hyde pulled on my arms to slide me just a little closer to him and wrapped his arms around my waist. Having nowhere else to go with my own arms, I let them lay across his shoulders. I wouldn't look him in the eyes though.

"Eppie," Hyde started to say.

"Hyde, will you take me to one more place today?" I stopped him from continuing.

"Yeah, sure," he answered, a little confused.

"Great," I smiled as I skated off toward solid ground.

"Em, Eppie?" Hyde asked.

"Yes?" I turned back toward him.

"How do I start moving?" Hyde inquired.

"Oh, sorry!" I laughed skated back to my friend.


	18. Visiting Hours

"The last time I was on this side of the glass, I was three," Hyde told me while we were waiting for my brother. "My mom was visiting my dad."

"Bobby!" I cried out when I saw my brother being led through the door by an armed guard.

"Eppie, can you believe they have me being escorted by a cop?" Bobby asked after picking up the receiver. "Me? I'm a pacifist!"

"It's good to see you again," I smiled.

"You too," my brother replied. "How are you doing in college?"

"Really well," I answered. "And I have a good group of friends, too."

"Great!" Bobby was genuinely happy to hear this. "I'd like to meet them some time."

"Good, 'cause I brought one of them with me," I said, a little unsure of how I was going to introduce him to Hyde.

"Really?" Bobby said.

I looked over at Hyde and kind of motioned for him to scoot over so that he could see my brother through the window. "Bobby, this is my friend Hyde," I said. "He insisted on coming home with me for Christmas Vacation so that Alan wouldn't…"

"So Eppie told you?" Bobby nodded to Hyde.

"Yeah," Hyde said. "She told me all about you too. I would have run too."

"You came all this way just to keep our stepfather off of her?" Bobby sounded almost as if he didn't really believe Hyde.

"Yeah," Hyde answered.

"Are you sleeping with her?" Bobby asked bluntly.

"No," Hyde almost laughed. "No, I just… I don't know man… she just seems so innocent and I couldn't let her get hurt anymore."

"This is a good guy, Eppie," Bobby said without taking his eyes off of my friend.

"Please don't let that get around," Hyde said. "That's not really a reputation I like to be popular for."

This was when I realized that I had been biting my nails, and quickly pulled my hand away from my mouth as I pulled in a deep breath. Bobby approved of my friends. As much as I hated to admit it that was really the reason I had asked Hyde to come with me.

"Let's go Taylor," the guard interrupted.

"One moment," Bobby replied. "I guess I'll see you later, Eppie. I'm so sorry Peter and I missed your graduation."

"I understand," I told him as I stood up and grabbed my coat from the back of the chair I had been sitting on.

"Hyde, get her back to school safely," Bobby instructed.

"I will man," Hyde answered.

"Was Peter your oldest brother?" Hyde asked to break the silence that was hanging heavy in the car.

"Uh-huh," I answered barely turning my head away from the side car window.

"With the way you skate, you should help Jackie get ready for the next roller disco," he said. "I think she was considering signing up for it."

"I could definitely see Jackie doing roller disco," I responded with a laugh.

"Donna said that Jackie and Fez actually won the last one she was in," Hyde told me.

"So I guessing you didn't go see it?"

"No way, disco sucks," Hyde said. "But I wish I had gone."

"Why?" I asked. "Did Jackie kill you for not going?"

"No this was before we were dating," Hyde informed me. "Nope, Kelso swallowed a marble while their and I would have loved to have seen that."

"I should have known that it would have involved Kelso doing something stupid," I shook my head.

"Did we ever tell you about the firecracker suit?" Hyde took a glance at me.

"I don't believe I've heard of this," I smiled.

The rest of the car ride was filled with talk of the stupid things Kelso has either done, said, or convinced others to do.


	19. Owner of a Record Store

"Are you all set for your next semester?" my mom asked me while she was fixing dinner.

"Yes, my classes are going to be more difficult this time, but I think I'll be able to handle it," I told her as I pulled off a piece of sourdough bread and took a bite out of the bread.

"What about you, Steven?" my mom asked. "Are you in college also?"

"No, actually," Hyde told her. "I own a record store."

"Wow, did you say own?" my mom asked in pure amazement.

"Yeah," he nodded nonchalantly after taking a sip of his coka-cola.

"Eppie, did you know that you're dating the _owner_ of a record store?" my mom turned to me, her eyes wide.

"Yeah mom," I muttered. Alan had told my mom that Hyde and I were together and Hyde convinced me to keep up the charade. I didn't feel as good about lying to my mom as I did to Alan, but at least she couldn't tell Alan any different if she didn't know any different. Alan hadn't made any advances on me since I had come home due to Hyde telling my step-father that he was dating me. If he found out we had lied, well, I didn't even want to think of what Alan would do to me.

"Well, keep this one," my mom said. "I would love to have a record store owner as a son-in-law."

"I am so sorry about my mom," I said after dinner once Hyde and I had excused ourselves into the basement where we sat down on the couch to watch Green Acers. "She has always wanted me to marry some rich guy so that she could live off of my husband."

"Don't worry about it," Hyde replied. "She isn't the first one to think that just because I run a record store means I'm rich; quite a few people make that mistake actually."

"I meant about the part where she wants me to marry you," I said, playfully slapping his arm.

"Yeah, I knew that," he replied with sarcasm in his voice.

"Uh huh, sure ya did," I laughed.

"Ya know," Hyde started. "I'm really glad I came home with you."

"Really?" I asked

"Yeah, I never would have gotten to see you skate like that or to meet your brother otherwise," Hyde told me.

"I'm happy you enjoyed it," I smiled. "I'm glad you came too. I think I had more fun here at home then I have since Bobby went to jail."

Hyde leaned over and lightly kissed me. I could feel my face quickly becoming flushed and smiled just a little.

"Well, um goodnight," I said quietly as I stood up and headed for the stairs.

"Night Eppie," I heard Hyde say as I began to climb the steps.

Once I was in my room I quickly picked up my phone and dialed Donna's home number.

"Hello?" Bob picked up.

"Hi, Mr. Pinciotti," I greeted. "Is Donna there?"

"Yeah, one moment," Bob said.

"I've got it, Dad," I heard Donna say as she picked up the receiver in her room. I then heard the phone click as Bob put his receiver back in place on the wall. "Hello?"  
"Hey, Donna," I said.

"Eppie!" Donna replied. "How's home?"

"Good," I told her. "Um… great?"

"That sounded like a question," Donna pointed out.

"I think it was," I stumbled.

"He kissed you," Donna stated. "Didn't he?"

"Who?" I played dumb.

"Who." she repeated. "As if you don't know."

"Um… maybe?" I said.

"Maybe?" Donna laughed. "It's either yes or no. How can it be maybe?"

"Okay, yeah, so he did."

"What did you do?"

"God, I swear I'm talking to Jackie!" I said.

"Sorry, but this is exciting," Donna exclaimed.

"And why is that?" I asked.

"Because I told you so," Donna explained.

"So what happens now?" I slowly sat down on my bed as I asked her the question.

"You keep going," Donna told me. "I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense, but that's the best way I can put it. You just keep going. Don't let this affect your friendship with him."

"I understand that more then you know," I said. "Thanks Donna."

"You're comin' back tomorrow, right?" Donna asked.

"Yeah," I answered.

"Great, the car ride might seem scary, but just turn the music up and keep it on Zeppelin or Pink Floyd and we'll talk about this more once you get back," Donna said.

"Alright," I nodded. "See ya'."

"Bye."


	20. Home Again

_Note from author:_ "Hi, as I stated at the end of the last chapter, I really didn't like the last chapter, so after so feedback, I changed it from 'In the Circle: 3' to 'Owner of a Record Store.' So if you've already read chap. 19, please go back and read it before you read this chap. otherwise you won't get this one. Thanks."

I did as Donna suggested and kept myself occupied with the radio during the car ride back to Point Place. Every once in a while Hyde would try to talk to me but I would just exclaimed that "I love this song!" and turn the volume up a little more, singing along with "Stairway to Heaven" and "Money." I'm pretty sure that Hyde caught on to what I was trying to do, but he allowed me to ignore the situation anyway.

Donna was waiting to help pull my bags from the El Camino when we pulled up to the front of the dorm building.

"How was your vacation?" Donna asked with a broad smile on her face.

I rolled my eyes but replied anyways. "Good, and yours?"

"Pretty good," Donna nodded. "You didn't really miss anything. Oh, wait, Kelso did try to go sledding off of Jackie's roof into the pool."

"Did he get hurt?" I asked my eyes wide with the continued stupidity of my friend.

"Well, he did have to get two stitches just above his eyebrow," Donna shrugged.

"I wonder if he'll ever get a broken bone," Hyde commented.

After Hyde and Donna made sure all my stuff was unpacked and in place, the three of them headed over to the Forman's. Mrs. Forman was waiting with the Kelso, Fez, Jackie, Eric, and a welcome home cake.

"Hi Mrs. Forman," Hyde said as he hugged her with one arm, his other hand filled with a duffle bag.

"Can I have a piece of cake now, Mrs. Forman?" Fez asked.

"Let me cut it," Kitty replied. "He's been asking about this cake for the past two hours. Eric, will you get out the plates and forks out?"

Kitty had just cut the first piece of cake and was passing it to Fez when Laurie walked in through the swinging door.

"Sweet, cake," she said as took the plate out of her mother's hand before Fez had a chance to take it for himself.

"Ai!" Fez whined.

"Here you go," Kitty said, passing Fez another piece of cake.

"Thank you," Fez said as he began to greedily shovel pieces of cake into his mouth.

Kitty then made sure that everyone else got a piece of cake before she cut herself one.

"So, what did you kids do while you were home, Eppie?" Kitty asked as she took a bite of her cake.

"Yeah," Donna smiled. "What did you kids do?"

"Oh, please don't tell me you slept with _him_!" Laurie indicated Hyde with her fork.

"Now Laurie!" Kitty said. "Well, that's just not a very nice thing to say!"

"Anyway," I said, shaking the thought of Laurie's comment out of my head. "We didn't do to terribly much. Ya know, just normal stuff."

"Did you here about what I did?" Kelso asked excitedly as he pulled away his hair from his forehead to let us look at the scare with the two stitches.

"Yeah man, I'm sorry I missed it," Hyde laughed

"That's gross!" I exclaimed at the same time.

"Hey, Mom," Eric said. "Thanks for the cake." He then kissed her on the forehead and headed down to the basement with Donna in tow. The rest of us all said our thanks and followed the couple down the steps.

"So, what _did _you do?" Eric asked as he jumped over the back of the couch and took a seat. I glanced at Donna who was smiling ear to ear. I could tell she was enjoying being the only one who knew about the little kiss.

"Like Ep. said, not much," Hyde said casually, taking his rightful place in the old kitchen chair.

"So what, you just sat around for about two and a half weeks?" Eric didn't really seem to comprehend this.

"Well, I did get to go to jail," Hyde told him.

"Hyde!" Eric cried out. "Do you have to get arrested everywhere you go?"  
"Man, that's awesome!" Kelso exclaimed, rocking a little in the lawn chair.

"I didn't exactly get arrested," Hyde admitted with a little smirk.

"We went to visit my brother," I told the group.

"Why is your brother in jail?" Jackie asked me.

"He got caught trying to skip out on his draft papers," I explained, pushing a bit of my hair back behind my ear.

"I liked the guy," Hyde nodded.

"You would," Eric rolled his eyes with a hint of a laugh.

After that, Fez was instructed to turn on the T.V. and told to turn the channel dial until I saw I clip of "Bewitched" and told him to stop.


End file.
